A Helping Hand

Mike Eubanks

09/30/2006

Lost in Stanford's dismal defense the last two weeks has been the return of Michael Okwo. The six-foot senior inside linebacker has only one good hand, but he has recorded two new career highs in tackles. Okwo admits that his conditioning and circumstances hurt him greatly last week, which makes all the more exciting what he could do when 100 percent sometime soon this season.

In a mostly unwatchable game last week against Washington State, there was
one man in cardinal and white worth the price of admission all by himself.
Stanford senior inside linebacker Michael Okwo was a wild man, running down
Cougars at every turn. Though still marginalized by a broken thumb injury
last month that keeps him from shedding blockers and making tackles like he is
capable, Okwo racked up a career high with an eye-popping 15 tackles. That
came one week after his 2006 debut, notching 10 tackles against Navy - at that
time his new career high.

"I was just doing what my coaches tell me to do. There is nothing too
complicated about it," Okwo offered humbly after the superlative performance in
a disheartening defeat. "They ran some plays that happened to come my
direction, and I just had to make some plays. Some of them I missed, which
is something I have to clean up."

"Mike Okwo has real gifts," a more excited Walt Harris comments on the senior
standout. "You saw how explosively quick that he is and how he gets all
over the field."

Okwo has played just two games this season, yet he is already tied for fourth
on the team in tackles and ranks second in tackles for loss. The more
incredible aspect of the 15-tackle performance is that Okwo is still playing
with only one good hand. He is weeks away from being his old self, and for
now continues to keep his right hand wrapped up. The good news is that
Okwo began the rehabilitation process for his thumb this week, which means he is
on the path to strength and health that will eventually let him be a two-handed
tackler.

Not only is he handicapped on the field, but Okwo is also nowhere near the
conditioning he possessed before he broke his thumb. He estimates that he
was playing at just 75 percent of his capacity.

"I have a quarter tank to still fill up," he grins.

Let's see... 15 tackles at just 75%... That means we should
expect at some point this season to see 20-tackle games from Okwo, right?

"You do the math," Okwo laughs.

Let's dig a little deeper to demonstrate just how difficult a game and how
spectacular a performance Okwo gave us. It starts with the opponent.
Okwo missed a month of football after breaking his thumb, including an important
piece of training camp. The 10 tackles against Navy was a career-high and
one heckuva debut after all the time he missed. But Okwo explains that the
triple-option offense that depends so heavily and predictably on running the
ball was an easy transition, relatively speaking for him. Washington
State's pro-style offense that spreads the field and can put the ball so many
places was a markedly more difficult test.

"I think Washington State challenged us on defense in different ways than
Navy did," the senior explains. "I was able to focus a little more on the
run and the downhill stuff versus Navy, and for that reason the game against
Navy was easier. You definitely have to be more aware of different threats
[against Washington State]. They threw the ball much more than Navy did.
They compromised us in different ways."

The Cougars more than "compromised" Stanford out of the gate. They kept
the ball for all but 99 seconds in the first quarter, which put Okwo and his
defensive mates on the field for what was tantamount to an entire half of play.

Okwo did not leave the field. During the entire game, he never left the
field. For the breadth of Stanford's 84 defensive snaps, Okwo was manning
the middle of the field. For somebody with at best 75 percent of his
conditioning, that was an inopportune time to play the first every-snap game of
his college career.

"I took a lot of snaps early on, and it was difficult with the wear and tear
of the game. I was definitely worn out there," he allows. "It did
come into my mind in the second quarter. I was pretty exhausted. We
have a lot of sub's going in at the other linebacker positions. I just
remember thinking that I need to stay in this game."

"When your back is against the wall, you have to keep fighting," Okwo adds.
"When they're charging down the field, there is no time to catch your breath.
It's time to go."

With each successive week back in football practices and games, the Stanford
senior will regain his conditioning and playing form. He is also unlikely
to suffer again a first quarter where the defense is so distressed. But
despite a career performance from the one-handed bandit, it was a dreadful day
for the Cardinal. That underscores how Okwo needs help from his teammates
and his coaches to give him support on several levels.

"I think that the area where we have to try and help him a little more is
that we have to get him out there when he gets tired, which is understandable.
He's not in near as good of football shape as those who have been playing
because he's been out," Harris opines. "But he played a magnificent game
and was pretty good at doing what he was supposed to do, as well. He has
some superlative talent that he showed."

In order to feel like Stanford can substitute Okwo from the game, there needs
to be better playmaking from the positions around him in the front seven.
The Cardinal coaches also need to feel that the backup linebackers at his
position can provide a lesser drop-off when they give Okwo a breather.

"We have to keep getting better around him, as well as getting him some rest,
so that he can play at the high level that he does," Harris declares. "I
think that will make our defense a lot better."

And Okwo will become better, too. He did fail to wrap up some
ballcarriers last week, and he could have put himself into other positions to
make plays - hard though that might be to believe given what he achieved.

"I missed some tackles," Okwo laments. "It's just a confidence level
with my ability to wrap up, to shed offensive linemen and to play against
offensive linemen. All of those things are little things, but they they
improve your ability and the possibilities that you have as a defensive player.
The more weapons that you have as a defensive player, the more difficult it is
to be stopped. The more weapons that I get back, the better I will be as a
player and the more confident I will feel."

There is also another feeling for Okwo tonight at the Rose Bowl. He
carries an intense fire to win what may very well be the last football game he
ever plays in Los Angeles, where he grew up. Okwo has lost his four
football games played in the City of Angels. It started with the final
game of his senior year, when the Manhattan Beach (Calif.) Mira Costa High
School standout lost to Notre Dame High School of Sherman Oaks in the CIF
championship game and lost an undefeated season. It has continued with
three losses in three years of college at USC and UCLA.

With no NFL team in Los Angeles today, this may be the last time he plays at
home before friends and family. The fact that he tonight plays against the
Bruins, where he almost committed as a high school senior before his father made
him reconsider, is an extra edgy dimension to the drama.

"It would be a great feeling to walk away from UCLA - especially UCLA being
one of the top schools I was looking at going to college - it would be a great
win to close out my career in L.A," Okwo describes. "It's really important
to go out on top against UCLA, just being from the L.A. area. Knowing
those guys I grew up with, played against in high school and played with in
all-star games games, it's important that I get the last laugh. It would
be a great feeling."

Are you fully subscribed to The Bootleg?
If not, then you are missing out on all the top Cardinal coverage we provide
daily on our website, as well as our full-length feature articles in our glossy
magazine. Sign up today for the biggest and best in Stanford sports coverage
with TheBootleg.com (sign-up)
and The Bootleg Magazine (sign-up)!